Tim Schraeder in Leadership Summit 2009
Called a “C.S. Lewis for the 21st century” by Newsweek, Dr. Timothy Keller is founder and pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Over the past 20 years, the church has grown to three sites, with weekly attendance of 6,000. Named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Churches in America, Keller’s ministry is notable not only for winning over New Yorkers who are skeptical to faith, but also for its missional approach, planting more than 100 churches through the Redeemer Church Planting Center. Author of The Reason for God andThe Prodigal God, he will talk about the well-known parable of the Prodigal Son and discuss the ways many people in our churches tend to resist the gospel.
- Tim has been a minister for 35 years and has been a sucker for anyone who has come along and said, ”I have the key to spiritual renewal…”
- The thing that shocks us is the amount of spiritual deadness in our congregations.
- A small part of the congregations do most of the work.
- Spiritual deadness is still the main problem.
Marks of an Elder Brother
- Elder brothers get incredibly angry when their lives don’t go well. They get furious with life and with God. It shows they believe God owes them.
- Elder brothers can’t handle criticism. How do you respond to criticism? When they get criticized they reply with vicious counter-attack. Their self-regard is rooted in their self-image and reputation of being a good person, not in their identity in Christ.
- Elder brother’s prayers are petitionary. They never just enjoy God. There’s no intensity or intimacy in their prayer lives. They only pray when life gets rough.
- Elder brothers are loathing. If your self image is based on you having right doctrine and not what the right doctrine is about… or if you are hardworking, you’ll look down on anyone who’s not.
- Elder brothers can’t forgive. It’s impossible to stay angry and bitter at someone unless you feel superior to them. You have to have a fair amount of pride to stay bitter.
